What experiences have you had with late 1990's Bourgeois guitars?

[Wade Hampton]

Do any of you own Bourgeois guitars that were built in the late 1990's? I know that they were built in a different location than where they're built now, but other than that I don't know much about them.

Any observations and experiences you all have had with older Bourgeois guitars would be very useful, whether you've owned any or not.

Thanks in advance,


Wade Hampton Miller

[Earl49]

Don't own one, but came within a gnat's eyelash of buying a Country Boy from Grassroots Guitars up in Fairbanks during a business trip about 15 years ago, so roughly the right age group. It was an impressive guitar -- one of the nicest dreadnoughts that I have ever played -- and I would call it a D-18 on steroids. It would have made a great mahogany contrast to my Martin J-40.

The main reason I passed was not wanting to check such an expensive guitar as baggage on the way back home to Anchorage. Next car trip up there, when it could have ridden home safely, it was gone. One that got away.

[Silly Moustache]

I had a 196 DS260 for a couple of years.
A beautful, lightweght instrument, exquisite sound,great fit & finish.

but ....1 & 3/4" nut width and a shallow C profile - just too thin for me.

Form that one sand others that I've seen Dana tends to make them with relatively low saddles from new.

[George Henry]

I had both a Country Boy and the lesser cost mini jumbo. They were both great guitars. The Country Boy developed a 1" crack in the side, but I repaired it and never thought about that again.

[phavriluk]

I think Bourgeois builds to order and each instrument is made and set up to satisfy its buyer. Generalizations won't work in such an environment, as a subsequent owner/player may have different idea of goodness as compared to the person who commissioned the instrument. So if a would-be buyer doesn't like a particular instrument that was made for somebody else, I think that's not a flaw on the part of the instrument, just a mismatch.

[Wade Hampton]

Originally Posted by phavriluk

I think Bourgeois builds to order and each instrument is made and set up to satisfy its buyer. Generalizations won't work in such an environment, as a subsequent owner/player may have different idea of goodness as compared to the person who commissioned the instrument. So if a would-be buyer doesn't like a particular instrument that was made for somebody else, I think that's not a flaw on the part of the instrument, just a mismatch.

It was a factory set-up during the 1990's, which is why I asked. Even now, the impression I received when I met Dana Bourgeois and some of his employees at the Fretboard Summit in California a couple of years ago was that it's a small shop operation, not a one-off custom shop operation.

Meaning that, yes, they're happy to do custom orders, but they also have stock models that they make.


whm

[ronmac]

I own a 1997 JOMC-DLX (bear claw Sitka over curly claro walnut) that I purchased used in 2005 from the Twelfth Fret. Lovely guitar. Extremely high quality build and detailing.

It got me hooked on Dana's guitars, and almost everyone I have played since had me doing the quick "how can I buy this one" dance in my head.

In 2007 I purchased my second Bourgeois, a DBJC (redwood over eir) and it has become my favourite dadgad instrument.

Not everyone is going to fall in love with every guitar Dana builds, but there is no denying the high build quality and meticulous detail of his instruments. The earlier ones are great and the newer ones are getting better, as you would expect from a dedicated crafts person.

[Zissou Intern]

Around '04 or 05 I bought a used Country Boy from probably '97 or 98, one of the early ones, pre Pantheon. It was built as well as any guitar out there, including Collings. And it sounded great, with a very full low end. It had a fantastic neck, the shape that is so right, that it actually feels warm in your hand.

I emailed Bourgeois to ask a question if the top was possibly German spruce. All the guys I picked with thought it was. Dana called me at home a couple hours later. We had a 10 or 15 minute discussion that wandered to various guitar related topics. He said he based the neck profile a 30's Martin he owned. And Dana, taking the time out of his day to call a random customer about a second hand Bourgeois showed what he was all about.

I worked very part time at a small acoustic shop at that time, but he didn't know that when he called me. We ended up carrying Bourgeois just because of that guitar and that personal phone call.

[islandguitar]

My JOM is from the first year, '93 (serial #000032). Great guitar and the one I turn to for anytime I play out. From talk with staff and Dana, the early ones were likely all custom ordered as the business took off. At what point they moved to both stock and custom, I don't know. Here's an email quote from Dana directly: "All my guitars were custom for the first couple of years.

The neck shape (thin), as others have indicated is perfect for me.

Great service from the company with both questions answered and, last year, I purchased a new case from them for the JOM and it was an easy and fun process working with them.

[devellis]

Originally Posted by Wade Hampton

It was a factory set-up during the 1990's, which is why I asked. Even now, the impression I received when I met Dana Bourgeois and some of his employees at the Fretboard Summit in California a couple of years ago was that it's a small shop operation, not a one-off custom shop operation.

Meaning that, yes, they're happy to do custom orders, but they also have stock models that they make.


whm

Yes, that's right. I visited the shop and I've also been to stores (like the Music Emporium) that have a few Bourgeois guitars hanging on their walls. They make guitars in standard models, turn out interesting variations on some models, and also build to customer specifications. But the bulk of their output (although "bulk" hardly seems like the right word) is made for distribution through dealerships as ordered by those dealers, not orders coming directly from the players who will eventually own them.

Mine is later than the '90s and built in their present location, so info may not be relevant to your query. But it's a great guitar. It's the only dread-sized guitar I own and the size isn't the most comfortable for me but it's too good a guitar to part with.

[Mycroft]

I did play a couple of Bourgeois guitars at Mammoth Music, sometime in the late 90s. I think that it was during the time when he had expanded his operation, which he subsequently reduced.

All that I can remember was that they were real nice, but beyond my then college-student budget.

TW

[Wade Hampton]

Mycroft (Sherlock Holmes' smarter brother) wrote:

Originally Posted by Mycroft

I did play a couple of Bourgeois guitars at Mammoth Music, sometime in the late 90s. I think that it was during the time when he had expanded his operation, which he subsequently reduced.

All that I can remember was that they were real nice, but beyond my then college-student budget.

I played several at Mammoth Music during that same period, perhaps a dozen or more over the years that they had Bourgeois dealership, and probably an equal number at music stores in New York City and other cities I visited back then. I remember the Bourgeois guitars of that period as being kind of hit or miss, which is why I started this thread: while all of them had good fit and finish and were made of excellent materials, some of them sounded great, but some did not.

The more recent Bourgeois guitars made since the company's reorganization at the start of this century have definitely been more consistent than their earlier examples. I could insert a joke here that back in the 1990's they sent all their clunkers to their Anchorage dealership to exile them in the faraway frozen hell that is Alaska, but I noticed the same inconsistency in the Bourgeois guitars that I played in New York City back in 1994 or whenever it was. Some were great, some were not.

Anyway, I'm going to go look at one of these earlier guitars, and will report back once I do. Thanks for all your input so far.


Wade Hampton Miller

[Wade Hampton]

Okay, I went over to the gentleman's house and tried the 1999 Bourgeois Slope D model he has for sale. You can look at the ad here:

https://anchorage.craigslist.org/msg...283770686.html

It's a very fine guitar, and in absolutely immaculate condition:

1999 Bourgeois Slope D

It sounds very good, and the setup on it is equally good.

It was interesting to me that this guitar, built before the current fad for vintage-style open tuners gripped the marketplace, has sealed gear Gotoh minis with full sized buttons on it instead of Waverlys or Grover Sta-Tites:

˙˙˙

The tuners themselves are fine, even though they were made before Gotoh converted their product line to the "Rock Solid" platform that greatly increases their stability and accuracy. I had a little trouble wrangling the B string on this guitar to get it perfectly in tune, though if I'd thought to bring the right size phillipshead screwdriver with me I could have fixed it in an instant. All it needs is to have the clutch screw firmed up on that tuner.

Anyway, it's a fine-sounding guitar, but it doesn't really cover any musical niche that I don't already have covered. I've got a Gibson Advanced Jumbo and a Klepper KJ to cover slope shoulder dreadnoughts, and my Martin D-18 covers the mahogany dreadnought slot.

One thing that did surprise me about this guitar is that it didn't sound particularly "Gibson-ish." I guess I went in hoping to find an über-J-45, but the Bourgeois is a long scale guitar, and this particular example, anyway, isn't especially J-45-ish.

But it's a very good guitar at what seems like a reasonable price, so I would encourage anyone who's interested to check it out.


Wade Hampton Miller